Hot Topics:

Oneida boys basketball falls to Bishop Grimes in opener

Oneida’s Rory McCarthy (14) and Bishop Grimes’ AC Ater (10) chase after a loose ball during the first half of their first round game in the NBT Bank-Oneida Sports Boosters Basketball Shootout on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 in Oneida.
JOHN HAEGER – ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH @ONEIDAPHOTO ON TWITTER

Oneida’s Jeffrey Coulter (5) looks to pass as he is trapped by Bishop Grimes’ AC Ater (10) and Akol Ater (12) during the first half of their first round game in the NBT Bank-Oneida Sports Boosters Basketball Shootout on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 in Oneida.
JOHN HAEGER – ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH @ONEIDAPHOTO ON TWITTER

ONEIDA >> Oneida’s boys basketball team shook off a sluggish first half offensively in its NBT Bank-Oneida Sports Boosters Basketball Shootout opener against Bishop Grimes on Friday with a 21-point third quarter.

Unfortunately for the hosts, they couldn’t carry the momentum into the fourth.

Tommy Steinberg scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Cobras, who outscored Oneida 13-2 in the final frame to break a 33-33 tie and come away with a 46-35 victory in the season opener for both teams.

Advertisement

“It’s frustrating,” said Oneida head coach Jeff Didio. “I though we came with some energy in that third quarter to get ourselves back in the game and, unfortunately, we just couldn’t put the ball in the basket the last period. Credit to their defense. I thought defensively they did a nice job on (Tyler) Kuhn inside, doubling him.”

Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the first quarter. Kuhn opened the scoring with a basket off an offensive rebound that turned out to be Oneida’s only field goal in the period. The hosts were stingy on defense, keeping the Cobras out of their press and drawing seven first-quarter fouls. However, Oneida turned the ball over four times and missed three free throws on its last six possessions of the quarter, allowing Bishop Grimes to take a 7-4 lead into the second quarter thanks in large part to an AC Ater 3-pointer.

With Bishop Grimes over the foul limit, Oneida entered the second quarter in the bonus but couldn’t take advantage. The hosts made just two free throws in the period while Steinberg had a run of five straight points for the Cobras and AC Ater’s second 3-pointer of the game helped Bishop Grimes take a 17-12 lead into halftime.

“Defensively I was very pleased,” said Didio. “We’re doing some good things. I thought we rebounded well. We didn’t quite get out in transition like I thought we would.”

Didio’s squad appeared to have solved its free throw woes in the second half, with Matt Hood and Canyon Hicks each making a pair to cut the lead to 20-18. Kuhn made a pair later in the period to make the score 26-24 in the Cobras’ favor before John Nish’s first basket tied the game at 26-26. Akol Ater answered with a 3-pointer but Nish followed that shot by drawing a foul while making a layup. He couldn’t make the free throw and a basket by Steinberg and two free throws by Johnny Wike gave Bishop Grimes a 33-28 lead near the end of the third quarter.

Oneida’s offense wasn’t done in the period. Nate Carinci made a 3-pointer and Nish scored again to tie the game at 33-33 entering the fourth quarter.

Steinberg took over immediately in the final period, scoring the first six points of the frame before teammate Joe Arrigo made a free throw. Steinberg added two more baskets and Arrigo another free throw before Kuhn scored Oneida’s only points of the fourth quarter on a pair of free throws with under one minute to play.

“We don’t quite have all of our offense in and it was evident at times today,” said Didio. “But hopefully we’ll play a little better tomorrow.”

Kuhn finished with six points for Oneida, tying for the team high with Nish and Rory McCarthy.

Oneida will play Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in the consolation game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by Bishop Grimes and Cortland in the championship.

About the Author

Kyle Mennig, sports editor for the Oneida Dispatch, originally hails from Munnsville. Kyle graduated from Geneseo State in 2008 and covers local sporting events, focusing on area high schools. Reach the author at kmennig@oneidadispatch.com
or follow Kyle on Twitter: @DispatchKyle.